Black Swamp Players end season with puzzler

The scene is Inspector Ruffing (Jason Wells-Jensen) questions Gillian Ravenscroft (Grace Easterly) in a scene from the Black Swamp Players' production of 'Ravenscroft.'

BOWLING GREEN -- The Black Swamp Players present Ravenscroft as a finale to their 2010-11 season.

Set around 1900 in a manor house in the remote English countryside, the mystery/farce by Don Nigro is a Sleuth-style puzzler that starts when the handsome handyman at the Ravenscroft estate is killed by a fall down the stairs, only months after his employer, Mr. Ravenscroft, met his end in the same manner.

Trying to determine if the deaths were accidents or murder is Inspector Ruffing of Scotland Yard. His suspects comprise five women, each of whom has a secret and a motive.

As the accounts of that fatal night grow more and more contradictory and the sexual tension becomes and more more palpable, the inspector's confusion escalates.

Directed by Leroy Morgan, the cast includes Jason Wells-Jensen as Inspector Ruffing; Deb Shaffer as the flighty Mrs. Ravenscroft; Grace Easterly as the manipulative Ravenscroft daughter, Gillian; Nicky Dutt as Marcy Kleiner, the governess; Karrie Bergman as the housekeeper, Mrs. French, and Michele Mathis as the slow-witted maid, Dolly.

The Black Swamp Players present "Ravenscroft" at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through May 14 and 2 p.m. May 15 in the First United Methodist Church, 1506 East Wooster St., Bowling Green. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, available at Grounds For Thought coffee shop, 174 South Main St., Bowling Green, or at the door. Information: 419-354-3266.

One acts

Lourdes College's Drama Society presents its annual Festival of One Acts this weekend on the Sylvania campus.

Of the eight comedies being presented, three were winners of the drama society's one-act playwriting competition. Held last fall, the contest received submissions from across the United States and Canada.

The winners are Russell Weeks of Seattle, who was awarded first place for Off Campus, about three young women whose desire to move out of the dorms results in challenges to their courage and ethics; Wil Denson of Eau Claire, Wis., who took second place for It Ate Houston, a tale of the chaos that ensues when events from the script for a radio play actually begin to happen in the studio, and Lynda Gaug of Saint Joseph, Mo., who received third place for the story of three pets awaiting the return of their owner.

Also scheduled are A Tall Order by Sheri Wilner, Fight Dreams by Alison Weiss, House of Cards by Richard Keller, Post-Its by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman, and The Spot by Steven Dietz.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Ebeid Student Center in Delp Hall at Lourdes College, 6932 Convent Blvd., Sylvania. Tickets are $5. Information is available from Keith Ramsdell, Drama Society adviser, at 419-517-8881.

Also opening

● Fort Findlay Playhouse finishes its mainstage season with Harvey, Mary Chase's classic comedy about a man and his best friend -- a six-foot-tall invisible white rabbit. Shows are scheduled at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays through May 14 in the theater at 300 West Sandusky St., Findlay. Tickets are $12 and are available at the Arts Partnership, 618 South Main St., Findlay. Information: 419-422-4624.

● The Sound of Music opens Friday as the season finale of Fremont Community Theatre. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is the tale of Maria, a novice nun hired to be nanny to the seven Von Trapp children in the period building up to World War II. Marie brings light and love to the children as well as their widowed father, Capt. Georg von Trapp. Well-known songs in the show include "Climb Every Mountain," "Do-Re-Mi," and "My Favorite Things." Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through May 22 in the theater at 1551 Dickinson St., Fremont. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Information: 419-332-0695.

● Patrick Henry Theatre League presents the musical version of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the gymnasium of Patrick Henry High School, 6900 State Rt. 18, Hamler, Ohio. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens from the high school office, Patrick Henry Community Libraries, and Heavenly Memories Scrapbooking in Hamler. Tickets also will be available at the door.

Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com or 419-724-6130.